Pirelli Will End Production at Spanish Tyres Plant

Worried Pirelli workers in Carlisle are sitting at home on a two-week shutdown due to a drastic drop in demand for their tyres.

But workers at the Italian tyres firm plant in Catalonia have been dealt a bigger blow after Pirelli announced it is going to stop making tyres in Spain from the end of this year.

There is a small glimmer of hope for the Spanish workers because the firm said it was committed to the region and told union officials that it will consider alternative projects there.

One possible concept is a logistics centre for tyre distribution.

But the future of its 550-strong Spanish workforce remains in the balance.Pirelli have already laid off 200 staff at the Manresa plant, but will not reveal how many of the remaining workers will lose their jobs until April.

The factory, which makes low and medium-end tyres for the European market, opened in 1924 and covers 211,000 square metres. Production at the plant totals 41,900 tonnes of UHP passenger and SUV tyres a year.